The 27-year-old Australian comedian is trying to account for his success in what he would argue
is the absence of ambition or strategy.

Still, consider that Thomas is a star Down Under and the leading man, writer and executive
producer of a half-hour comedy-drama,
Please Like Me, which recently began its 10-episode sophomore season on the Pivot cable
network.

A study in budding adulthood and its pitfalls, the series might be described as
Seinfeld blended with a guy-centric
Girls.

During the first season, the series followed Josh, a young Melbourne resident, as he loved and
lost a girlfriend, and — after acknowledging that he is gay — loved and lost a boyfriend. He came
out to his divorced parents while coping with his father’s overbearing new wife and his bipolar
mother’s mood swings. But, through it all, Josh kept his head above water.

Thomas has ample material from his life to fuel his series — material that, a decade ago,
powered his entry into stand-up when he began showing up at Melbourne clubs for open-mic
sessions.

His stand-up dates and TV appearances in Australia have attracted a surprisingly varied audience
— “60-year-olds, young couples, gays, a few lesbians,” he said, “and a lot of teenage girl fans who
didn’t have enough self-esteem to have a crush on Justin Bieber; they wanted someone more
accessible.

“I really loved stand-up,” Thomas said. “But I thought I’d be OK at writing a sitcom because
narrative is what my stand-up was anyway.”

Thomas says he isn’t that different from the character he crafted for the show.

“It’s just me saying what I would say if the stuff I write was really happening. And I try to
say it the way I would say it in real life.”

The show is a work in progress — just as he is.

“When we were pitching the show,” he recalled, “Josh was straight. I came out after that. So I
had a meeting with the network and said, ‘There’s been some script changes.’ ”

As production began on season two, “I tried to keep it truthful, honest-seeming,” Thomas said. “
But it’s not a life guide.”

Indeed, a viewer would be hard-pressed to find any obvious guidelines. At one moment, the
character Josh is self-centered and lackadaisical. The next, he is compassionate and responsible.
Then, in the blink of an eye, he’s back in slacker mode.

“Josh is inconsistent,” Thomas agreed, “but it annoys me when a TV character always acts the
same way. You don’t know if Josh is going to walk away from a problem or sit down and solve it. But
he’s just me, and, on any given day, I don’t know what I’d do, either.”